Defense

Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...
The Mysterious Threat to Pilots That the Pentagon Can’t Solve

By Ciro Scotti

Episodes of oxygen deprivation affecting the pilots of F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet — and other military aircraft including the F-35 — are on the rise and remain an unsolved mystery.
What Game Theory Tells Us About Trump’s ‘Madman’ Approach to North Korea

By Rob Garver

Is Donald Trump out of his mind? Maybe he wants North Korea to think so.
Does the Army’s $580 Million Handgun Have a Fatal Flaw?

By Ciro Scotti

Last January, the Army made a $580 million decision: It would replace its longstanding sidearm, the M9 Beretta, with a new modular handgun made by the U.S. arm of the German-controlled gunsmith Sig...
Why the Escalating Threats Between Trump and Kim Won’t End in War

By Patrick Smith

The supercharged threats volleyed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un this week bring us closer to war with the North Korea than at any time since Pyongyang tested its first nuclear device in...

Here’s the Real State of the $1 Trillion U.S. Nuclear Upgrade

By David Francis

The American nuclear arsenal is just about the same as it was when Trump took office.
Here’s Why North Korea Put Guam in Its Crosshairs

By David Francis

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never known, Pyongyang announced it is "examining the operational plan" to attack Guam, a tiny U.S...
Why the Price of the F-35 Keeps Soaring

By Ciro Scotti

The most costly fighter ever built is getting even more expensive. A new General Accounting Office report says the Pentagon will spend an additional $3.9 billion over the next five years on “...
The Media Has to Stop Provoking Trump’s Worst Instincts

By Rob Garver

For a man constantly boasting about his extraordinary negotiating prowess, President Trump made a pretty obvious rookie mistake on Tuesday, with his apocalyptic-sounding promise to deliver “fire and...
Five Things You Need to Know About Plans to Privatize the Afghan War

By David Francis

The White House is actively considering a plan to turn a big chunk of the war in Afghanistan over to private contractors. That’s according to Erik Prince, founder of the Blackwater security firm, who...

U.S. Military Builds a $15 Million Warehouse That Nobody Wants

By Millie Dent

In another frustrating example of U.S. government waste, a $14.7 million warehouse built at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan stands empty and unused. The warehouse was built to be a distribution...
Obama Iran Doctrine: Get the Deal You Can, Not the Deal You Want

By Patrick Smith

Amid all the questions already raised about the Obama administration’s deal governing Iran’s nuclear program, we know this much already: It won’t be as hard to sell this on Capitol Hill as it was...
Did Iran Negotiate in Bad Faith? That's the Key Question

By Rob Garver

Critics of the deal object to many elements of it, but most of the arguments share a single assumption as their starting point: that Iran is negotiating in bad faith.
Rubio: Send More Weapons to Jordan for ISIS Fight

By Rob Garver

Congress is looking to turn up the heat in the battle against ISIS by providing more weaponry and other military support to the Kingdom of Jordan, one of the strongest U.S. allies in the Middle East...
After Obama’s Nuke Deal, What Happens If Israel Attacks Iran?

By Eric Pianin

What would happen if Netanyahu made good on his threat to launch a preemptive military strike to take out Iran’s nuclear plants? If he concluded that the very survival of the Jewish state were at...

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